Types of medical practice which are not usually taught in medical schools, e.g. homeopathy or acupuncture (informal).
The various systems of healing that are not regarded as part of orthodox treatment by the medical profession. Some of these are based on theories that coincide to some extent with more orthodox medical ideas; others are based on ideas that bear no relation to standard medicine. Among the more reputable systems of fringe medicine are osteopathy, acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, and chiropractic.